OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: WEDNESDAY MARCH 27TH, 2024.
THEME: THOU SHALL NOT STEAL
MEMORISE:
Thou shalt not steal.
Exodus 20:15
READ: Ephesians 4:27-28
27 Neither give place to the devil.
28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
MESSAGE
The lust of the eyes, the pride of life, and the lust of the flesh are reasons many take what belongs to other people. The obsession to have it all without working for them and being controlled by material things will eventually lead to stealing. God wants you to have everything you truly need but in His own way and at His own time. He is willing to give you everything you need and more, but you must seek Him and His righteousness first.
Nobody can bless you more than God, so it is better to wait for God’s blessing because it will make you rich without any form of sorrow being added to it (Proverbs 10:22). Don’t let the devil deceive you with flashy things. Mark 8:36 says that all the material gains in the world will profit you nothing if you lose your soul. Beloved, please do not trade your soul for material gains by stealing. Nothing at all in this world is worth your soul.
God frowns strongly at stealing. If you desire to have more, work more. Do not take from those who have laboured for their possessions. Some people try to categorise and rationalise stealing. For example, some people will say corruption is not stealing. Some will even try to explain why internet fraud is different from stealing. Beloved, the moment a person takes something that does not belong to him or her without the permission of the owner or under false pretences, that fellow has stolen.
In 1 Corinthians 6:10, the Bible makes it clear that no thief will enter heaven. The devil is the father of thieves because, according to John 10:10, stealing is his first assignment in any man’s life. My father in the Lord, Pa Josiah Akindayomi, used to say that your father will take care of you with whatever he has. If your father is God, then He will take care of you with healings, blessings, and long life, but if your father is the devil, he will take care of you with sicknesses, marital problems, death, and the like. Thieves should never expect God to answer their prayers because God is not their father.
In Leviticus 6:4 and Exodus 22:1-4 God said that if you have stolen something, you are to return it to the fellow you stole from in double fold. Don’t keep stolen property in your possession. Finally, let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth (Ephesians 4:28).
KEY POINT
Stealing puts you in the camp of the devil and gives him lordship over you. Don’t steal.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: I Samuel 19-21
AUTHOR: PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 31: I YELD NOT TO TEMPTATION
1 Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin;
Each victory will help you some other to win
Fight manfully onward, dark passions subdue;
Look ever to Jesus, He'll carry you through.
Ask the Savior to help you,
Comfort, strengthen, and keep you;
He is willing to aid you, He will carry you through.
2. Shun evil companions, bad language disdain;
God's name hold in reverence, nor take it in vain;
Be thoughtful and earnest, kindhearted and true;
Look ever to Jesus, He'll carry you through.
3. To him that o'ercometh, God giveth a crown,
Thro' faith we will conquer, though often cast down;
He who is our Saviour,
our strength will renew;
Look ever to Jesus, He'll carry you through.
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